Lost on Dark Waters: Strange Tides

[Zero_Point]

Lost on Dark Waters
Strange Tides

As the confusion of your journey fades and your eyes begin to focus in the darkness of the cavern, you slowly becomes apparent that it is not as empty and lifeless as it had first seemed. A variety of faintly glowing fungi and moss grows on the waste of rats, bats and other small creatures along the edges of the walls and floor. Here and there tiny luminescent beetles and slugs crawl along, feasting on the fungi and going about their meager lives. Veins of quartz and mica run through the solid stone walls, stretching up toward a ceiling somewhere far above your head and beyond your sight.

The air is cool, and a layer of moisture covers the stone around you, making it glisten in the dim light provided by the plants and insects. A steady drip comes from somewhere overhead, hitting the rocks in a constant drone. A light breeze comes from somewhere far off in the dark, accompanied by the gentle sounds of waves on rock. It is apparent there is some large body of water not too far off. The tranquil quiet of the cave is broken only by the distant squeak of a bat, and the confused mutterings of the four other people who stand just within sight in the darkness of the cavern. Though you are sure they are strangers, and their clothes are foreign to you, you still feel a certain mysterious kinship with them. Its almost as though you know them, perhaps from a dream, or a barely tangible memory of another life. Regardless, they seem just as lost as you, and perhaps together you can discover what strange land you have been brought to.

[BramsesII]

Anise (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?398767-OOC-Lost-on-Dark-Waters)

A young woman stands there staring at the wall, rubbing the back of her neck. She stands still for quite a while, studying the glowing fungi, considering the circumstances that landed her in this strange situation. A monkey peeks out of a satchel that is suspended from her backpack. The creature has already noticed the presence of the others, but the woman herself has not. She stands there muttering to herself. "Where are we? I don't remember..."

She looks over her shoulder at the monkey, who is making little excited noises. "Hush, Irini. I'm trying to... Well now..." Noticing four humanoid shapes in the distance she adjusts her sleeves, and her slightly grimy clothes suddenly are completely spotless. Carefully, she makes her way over to the nearest person as she brings the words of a spell to mind. Not to attack, mind you. Just a precaution.

When she finds herself within normal speaking distance, she clears her throat. "Aherm... Greetings." She inclines her head slightly as a way of greeting. "I am Anise. I... seem to have lost my way. You seem like the knowledgeable sort, could you perhaps tell me where were currently are?" She tries to fake a smile, but it looks more like a misplaced grin.

[Sephir]

"H-hi hi....." a soft voice emerges from the mist, revealing a girl about Anise's height. She wore a quite beautiful dress, an ebony silken gown when she appeared in the graduation ceremony. It seem is has been partly ruined by her traverse, revealing casual adventurer clothes. From withing, a mass of chains glinted dimly, as well as a longsword oh the woman's side . The girl itself had olive skin, brilliant brunette hair falling in locks around her , and emerald eyes. Where the dress was torn revealed well toned muscles, making obvious she was used to hardships. Blushing as she tried to cover most holes in her dress, she approached Anise . M-my name is Cedany she stammered A-and i am not sure where we are either....

[Syekate]

Stand still, play dead like the opossum. Maybe I won't get eaten. But the others who are moving around, talking, they aren't eaten, yet. Safe here? Plenty of life: beetles, bats, a few slugs crawling along the fungus. Still quiet, aside from talking. No immediate threats. Other people seem... what word? Not sure, strange feeling.

The man grabs a handful of glowing moss and lumbers up to the others, holding it high the better to see individual faces. He wears a confused scowl, difficult to find beneath the tangled hair and beard that envelop the majority of his face. He looks well outfitted for a fight, displaying a variety of weaponry and the muscular frame to use it. His clothes are covered in mud, a fact with which he appears to be comfortable. Exuding a pungent odor of stagnant waters and sporting a look of 'swamp chic,' it's easy to see why many would find this wild man repulsive.

"Karn Kree," he grunts in response to the giving of names. "In a cavern." he answers in response to the question of their whereabouts. There is no feigning of niceties or pleasantness with Karn Kree.

[Kintua]

A woman even taller than Karn stumbles closer to the group, muttering something about stepping in a puddle and too much rum and not enough rum. The awful lighting makes her look almost skeletal, but she sheathes her drawn rapier as she moves. "I'm thinkin' we're all lost and confused a bit. Hi, I'm Emily." She sticks out her hand for someone to shake, but doesn't seem to be offering to anyone in particular.

Hand still outstretched, she turns her head towards the breeze and the sound of waves lapping. "Figure there's only one way to find out where this cave is. Who's up for a walk?" She rolls her eyes and grins, clearly not taking the situation seriously.

[nolongerchaos]

Lytria

"Huh. Well this definitely isn't my glade..."

Lytria stands tall, a look of surprise and confusion upon her face. She then notices the presence of others, who though unknown to her, nonetheless seem familiar...

"Wait a minute, what are well all doing standing around in the dark?"

She then unslings her backpack and takes a few moments rifling through it."grumblegrumble..... stupid spirits..... grumble.... in here somewhere.... AHA!" With a flourish, she pulls out a shimmering blue gem on a sliver chain that shines with a bring light.

"Much better. Well, given the circumstances, I suppose it's nice to meet you all. I'm Lytria. And I suppose I could go for a walk..."

Lytria pulled her everburning torch out from her backpack

[BramsesII]

Anise

The witch takes a moment to introduce herself to everyone individually, ignoring any offered hands. She does slightly incline her head with each greeting, though.

"Well met Cedany. You don't look like you expected to be here."

"Karn. I'm Anise. I can see you're a master of observation."

"Well met, Emily. The name's Anise. And it looks like you're right. A walk it is, then."

"Lytria, huh? I'm Anise. I suppose it's nice to meet you too."

She then motions towards the monkey peeking out of its satchel, speaking to no-one in particular. "And this is Irini. She's pleased to meet you too, but I should warn you that she may bite if you come too close. Shall we see where we are exactly, then?"

She turns around and begins walking, conjuring up another light with a wave of her hand.

[Zero_Point]

Anise only makes it a few dozen feet before she reaches the edge of the water. The rocks seem to simply stop and drop away. The water glimmers a shade of greenish-black and stretches off beyond the edges of the light. It seems the group is standing on a relatively small rock shelf maybe ten feet wide. Looking left and right the rock seems to extend in both directions beyond the edges of the groups meager light.

[Syekate]

To Anise and the others trying to make the best of the situation with standard pleasantries, Karn Kree has little more to say than, "Hm." He walks up to the water's edge, kneels down, and drops a small stone into the water.

He scoops a small bit of it into his hand and tastes it to see if there might be any identifying features, like saltiness or mud that might tell him more about its source.

[BramsesII]

Anise

Reaching the edge of the water, Anise rubs the back of her neck as she tries to peer out over the water. A quick look over her shoulder confirms that the monkey's just as unable to see anything in the distance as she is. "Well then..." She looks from side to side, trying to get something of an idea of where the rock shelfs will lead them, but the dim light is not nearly enough to get a good glimpse of what lies in either direction. The witch rubs her chin in thought as her monkey ducks away into its satchel.

After half a minute or so, Anise speaks up again. "Well, it seems we have two choices. If anyone has a preference, they should speak up now. Also, I'd suggest we have someone with climbing experience go first. You know, in case something happens to the rock."

[nolongerchaos]

Following the group, Lytria reaches the water's edge.

"Interesting. I wonder where we might be... anyhow, Ms. Anise, I've never been much one for climbing myself, so I'll let someone else lead the way. In the mean time..."

As her voice trails away, Lytria stoops down and picks up a small stone from the ground and with a few muttered words and a touch, the stone begins to glow. "Well, knowledge is power." With a flick of her wrist, Lytria throws the stone out about 30 feet into the water.

Lytria cast Light on the stone and threw it to see if it would illuminate anything before landing in the water, and also as a means of gauging the depth of the water.

[Sephir]

I could give a shot at climbing.... Cedany says meekly, starting to remove her backpack Could someone help me getting this chain shirt off ? We'll save some time"

[Zero_Point]

Karn's inspection of the water reveals that it is warm, like bath water or blood fresh from a body. The taste is brackish, a mixture of fresh and salt water.

Lytria's stone sails out over the water, revealing nothing but more water that seems to stretch on for a good distance, far past the edges of the light. One could only describe this as some sort of underground great lake or possibly ocean. When the stone hits the water the splash echos uncomfortably for a long time in the cavern, and the light quickly sinks below the surface, vanishing into the dark depths.

[BramsesII]

Anise

Anise watches the illuminated stone sink into the depths. "Well, at least now we know we can't swim to the other side. And every underwater monster knows we're here now. Fun."

She arches a brow at Cedany when the woman begins undoing her armor. "I don't think going swimming would... Wait, did I say climbing?" She shakes her head, putting her hand on her forehead.

"I'm an idiot. Either way, I suggest you keep your armor on, miss. Who knows what lurks in these caves. Might want to lose the dress though. I can't imagine that's useful in a cave. You're welcome to walk in front, of course."

She looks at the others in the group. "So, which way do we take? Left or right?"

[Syekate]

"Hm. Warm... Salty, but not sea." Karn Kree stands and looks to the left and the right. With a shrug, he starts walking to the right. "This way, Idiot." It's hard to tell if he's taking a jab at Anise in retaliation to previous sarcasm, or simply taking her words with the utmost sincerity.

[Kintua]

"Good enough for me. I like him." Emily shrugs and starts following Karn to the right. "Karn, you said the water was salty, but not from the sea. Where would one normally find water like that?"

[BramsesII]

Anise


"This way, Idiot."

Anise arches a brow at Karn's remark, but doesn't respond immediately. Hmm. Not the reaction I was expecting. Relis'd react quite differently to my jabs. When he begins walking down the right path, the witch nods in agreement. "Very well, master of observation. Lead on."


"Good enough for me. I like him."

"He knows what he's doing. I hope." The witch joins the first two in their decision to go right. A squeaking sound of agreement (??) comes from the satchel with the monkey.

[Syekate]

"Mix of salt and fresh. Places where river meets sea. Salt marsh. Underground spring? Makes sense. Explains warm, too."

[nolongerchaos]

"Well at least we've learned a little about where we are. Nothing terribly helpful, but useful nonetheless. My sense of direction is nothing to write home about, so right seems as good a direction to me as left, and a considerably better option than forward. Well Mr... Karn was it? If you're going to be in front, would you care for a light?"

Lytria stoops down for a second and grabs another rock and causes it to shine brightly in the bioluminescent gloom, and holds it out in offering to Karn.

[Syekate]

Karn takes the stone with maybe the ever so very slightest nod of appreciation and holds it in front as he starts the group moving.

[Zero_Point]

As the group moves down the rock shelf, it begins to narrow until they are forced to walk single file. The light from the glowing stone, at first, reveals nothing but more rock and water, until slowly a large shape looms up before them. Approaching it, they discover a ship partially beached on the rock shelf. It seems to be some sort of small river barge, but it is unlike any barge the group has seen before. Made completely of metal, it has a mostly flat deck with a cabin roughly mid-stern and a strange, crane-like contraption near the bow. From the roof of the cabin rises a small smoke stack, and an iron railing circles the entire deck. Judging by the moss growing on its hull, this ship has been sitting here for some time.

[Kintua]

It takes Emily a moment to realize what she's seeing. At first, it's just a mass of metal and moss in her mind, but eventually the form reveals itself to her. She slips under Karn's arm to get a closer look at it, hoping it'll make more sense from up close.

"Alright. I'm dreaming. No one in the real world would ever make a ship like this. This is preposterous."

Her next thought is to try to get inside the cabin and take a look around. This thing has to have some kind of trick to it. It has to be magic or something, right? The thing doesn't even have a sail. She doesn't climb through the railing quite yet, instead glancing around to see if there's a gangplank or ladder. Or just a place where there is no railing. The barge might be made out of nothing but unfortunate choices, but a ship's a ship and every ship deserves some respect.

[Zero_Point]

There does not appear to be a gangplank or any kind of ramp to board the ship. The railing in unbroken all the way around the ship. Climbing over the railing doesn't look like it would be very difficult. there is also a rope hanging from the crane contraption that could be used to climb on board.

[Sephir]

This place looks very creepy.... Cedany stutters, looking at the strange ship Who could build a ship out of metal ?. Testing the rope to see it it can hold her weight, she begins to climb the ship

[roll0]

[Zero_Point]

Climbing the rope isn't too difficult and soon Cedany is standing on the deck of the ship. There is a tangle of more rope and old tarps scattered across the deck, but little else of any interest. The door to the cabin stands open, and there is a faint blue glow coming from inside, flicking a bit like a flame would.

[Sephir]

Cautiously drawing her sword, Cedany casts detect magic on the glow, waiting the others to climb the ships .Something really weird is here....

[Zero_Point]

Cedany can definitely feel a magical aura in the cabin of the ship.

[Sephir]

Cedany focuses, trying to discern the magic school and the strength of the aura." There is certainly something magical here "She says warily to the others.

Spellcraft check [roll0]

[Zero_Point]

Cedany knows it is a strong form of Abjuration magic coming from something inside the cabin, but can detect nothing else about it.

[Syekate]

Karn is completely confused by the thing before him. He gingerly touches the metal side of the hull, not sure what to do. This is definitely out of his natural element.

[Sephir]

Warily, Cedany starts to approach the Cabin, trying to discern what the blue light is. Failing that, she enters the cabin to investigate.

[BramsesII]

Anise

As Cedany is about to enter the cabin, Anise - who has been quietly observing the group for a moment - speaks up. "Wait a moment, miss Cedany. Perhaps I can glean a little more information than a simple "There is something magical about this."." The witch speaks a few words of magic, and her eyes light up. Perhaps this would allow her to discern something about the cabin, and whatever might be in there.

Casting detect magic
Spellcraft: [roll0]
Perception: [roll1]

[Zero_Point]

The only additional information Anise can determine is that the aura is coming from an object inside the cabin

[BramsesII]

Anise

The witch rubs the back of her neck, pondering why she cannot discern anything else about the magical object. "It's... I'm not sure what it is. I would suggest caution when entering that cabin." She coughs, then continues. "In fact, I suggest we all keep our eyes open and weapons ready in case something comes leaping out of there." Having suggested so, Anise takes her crossbow from her back and loads a bolt onto it, just as a precaution.

[nolongerchaos]

Lytria

"A metal boat. How curious... I wonder if it's powered by magic or if it is some marvel of engineering... In either case, it probably cost a fortune to make a ship out of this much metal. But you are correct of course, Ms Anise, caution is probably a good idea in the face of the unknown..."

Lytria reaches down and draws one of her starkives as she joins the others on the deck of the bizarre metal boat.

[Syekate]

Karn pulls himself aboard over the railing and wanders the deck, sifting through some of the ropes and tarps, seeing if there might be anything worth salvaging.

[Kintua]

Huffing to herself, Emily swings herself up under the railing to get up onto the deck, moving quickly to catch up with Cedany and Alise. She readjusts her buckler, but leaves her rapier in its sheathe for now as she approaches the cabin.

[Zero_Point]

Stepping into the cabin the group finds a fairly roomy space dominated by a classic steering wheel and a panel covered in a variety of gauges and dials. Against one wall stands a decent size boiler complete with a small furnace. The only other feature of the room is a small table at the center.

On this table rests a Victorian style, glass oil lamp. Both Anise and Cedany can tell immediately that this object is where the magical aura is coming from. But more astonishing is the tiny creature apparently trapped within the clear glass chimney of the lamp. It appears to be a two inch tall humanoid with pale blueish-grey skin. Its ears are long and pointed, and its eyes appear as two opaque black spots. It wears a tiny scrap of rag as a dress, and a pair of pearlescent dragonfly wings sprout from its back. Apparently female, she is very obviously the source of the blue glow, as her hair seems to be made from a flickering blue flame.

The tiny creature sits in her prison with a sullen expression on her small face. However, when the group enters the cabin she looks up with a mixture of curiosity and fear playing across her features.

[BramsesII]

Anise

"That's... unusual." The witch's attention is immediately drawn by the creature in the lamp. She leans closer to investigate, squinting to see better without actually touching the oil lamp. "Nobody touch this item. Not until we know what we're dealing with." Involuntarily, she rubs her neck ith her right hand as she observes the creature, trying to discern what sort of creature they are dealing with here.

Knowledges:

Arcana: [roll0]
Nature: [roll1]
Planes: [roll2]

[Syekate]

Karn peers at the little blue fire-head-man with some curiosity. "Hm."

Not that it would gain any more information than Miss Smarty-pants Anise. :smalltongue: [roll0]

[nolongerchaos]

Lytria


"Nobody touch this item. Not until we know what we're dealing with."

Lytria's hand freezes halfway to the lamp, and she glances around at the others a little sheepishly. After returning her starknife to her side, she kneels by the table and addresses the creature at eye level.

"Well hello there little dear. Who are you?"

[Zero_Point]

Anise can tell that this tiny creature is not a natural creature. Though she has no idea exactly what it is, there are enough defining characteristics for her to determine it is definitely some sort of fey. Judging solely on its appearance and size, she can only assume it is some type of pixie.

The little fey gazes out at Lytria when she speaks, and it tilts its head curiously. It is unclear at first if the creature can hear or understand Lytria's words,, but she slowly stands in her glass prison and offers a little curtsey in her filthy rag. Her mouth moves as if she is speaking, but the only sound the group can hear is a very soft crackling, like a pine cone on a fire.

[BramsesII]

Anise

"Hmm..." The witch rubs her chin as she ponders the possibilities. "We're dealing with a fey here. A kind of pixie. Beyond that, I cannot say." She stands up straight and looks at the others. "I could try taking another look at the magic that contains her, but my last attempt wasn't very succesful. Is there anyone else here with the ability to see magical auras?"

[Syekate]

Karn shakes his head and begins examining other objects about the room, curious as to what all the little gauges and dials might mean.

[Sephir]

"Poor thing. WHo knows how much it was trapped here" Cedany sighs as she approaches the lamp "I don't know the spell around the lamp, but it is of the abjuration school. This is hardly a school that could be related to traps, so tarrying with it will not bring much of a harm" She attempts to remove the glass part of the lamp

[BramsesII]

Anise

"Perhaps..." the witch begins as Cedany suggests the lamp cannot be a trap, "Perhaps it is meant to keep this creature in the lamp. Which is very much the domain of abjuration spells. Who knows, it may be dangerous."

She looks at the rest of the party. "It's anyone's guess, really. Perhaps we should try to find out more before we try to free the creature. Maybe there are clues around the ship?"

She looks at Karn, who is studying other objects within the cabin. "Find anything interesting?"

[nolongerchaos]

Lytria

"Well, that's definitely not a language I speak.Any chance you can understand Elvish little one? Hmmm... How about Sylvan? That one tends to be a bit better known by fey as I understand it.


Is there anyone else here with the ability to see magical auras?"

"Well I can try my hand at checking out the spells, but it's not something I've really given much practice to, so I probably won't learn anything you didn't already figure out...

Lytria will cast Detect Magic and try to figure out what's going on with the lamp.
Spellcraft: [roll0]
Knowledge Arcana: [roll1]

Also, the non-bolded italicized text is meant to indicate Lytria trying to communicate with the fey in the languages specified, in case that wasn't clear.

[Kintua]

Deciding that without any magic or prior knowledge, she isn't in a position to weigh in on the decisions about the fairy-in-a-bottle, Emily joins Karn in turning her attentions to the fancy panel, idly messing with the steering wheel as she does.

Something catches her eye as she stares at the panel. Suddenly, she seems much more interested than before, even more entranced with the metal and glass than with the pixie. "Hold up... This one looks like a compass with extra doodads. It might not be, but maybe I can actually figure out what the rest of these are for."

[Zero_Point]

The glass lamp chimney refuses to budge when Cedany tries to remove it. It does not appear to be stuck in any physical way, so the only logical assumption is that it is held in place by magic. The tiny fey inside watches curiously at the attempt to free her, but doesn't seem either eager to get out, or concerned about the removal of the glass.

When Lytria tries again to communicate, the little fey at first looks just as puzzled as before, but the sylvan language seems to spark some understanding. She nods in response to the question, clearly understanding the words, but again when the little pixie speaks, it is in the strange crackling tongue.

As Karn and Emily look around the cabin, they find a few interesting things.

Empily is indeed able to recognize a compass on the control panel, though it doesn't seem to have the traditional cardinal directions. Instead it has a series of odd symbols that have no meaning to her. The compass needle currently points toward one that resembles a pair of dice. The rest of the gauges do not correspond to anything she has seen on board a ship before, and must be connected in some way to the furnace, boiler, and whatever powers this iron ship.

Karn meanwhile notices a square hatch in the floor near one corner of the cabin with a locking bar firmly bolted over it. The lock looks simple enough, though it is clearly rusted and likely frozen in place. Presumably the hatch leads to the area below the main deck.

[Syekate]

Karn nudges the bolt lock with his toe and replies to Anise, "Mhhm. Hole in floor." Given the dilapidated appearance of the vessel and rusted bolt lock, he isn't particularly concerned with anything alive that might be on the other side of the door. As such, in one smooth fluid motion, he whips out his heavy flail and brings it crashing down with force on the lock in an attempt to break the door open.

Attacking the door: [roll0] (Subtract 3 if you prefer a strength check over an attack)
Damage if necessary: [roll1]

[Zero_Point]

The rusted lock shatters under Karn's attack, and with a little effort he is able to slide the locking bar away from the hatch door. When he lifts the hatch open, he can see a ladder leading down into the dark hold of the ship. Almost as soon as the hatch is open, however, a voice calls from below, "Oy! Someone up there? 'bout bloody time! Get me outta here will ya?"

[Syekate]

Karn looks at the others, slightly wide-eyed. Surprise after surprise today. I hate surprises. Looking back down into the hatch, he tucks his flail back into place among his assortment of weaponry and asks, "Any magic?"

[BramsesII]

Anise

Anise, having turned around the Karn the moment he smashed the lock with his flail, nods. She speaks a few words and her left earring begins emitting a soft glow again. She peers into the darkness of the hold, trying to see where the voice just came from. "Who's down there? Can you not simply climb out?"

[Zero_Point]

There is definitely a magical aura coming from the hold.

When Anise questions the voice the response is quick and irritated, "No ah can no bloody well climb out can I? If ah could ah already would'ave ye daft lubber! Now someone get yer arse down 'ere!"

[Sephir]

"Hold on a bit" Cedany says as she rummages through her backpack, retrieving a coiled rope. Within moments she takes it off, thowing one end to the hole Think you can climb out with it ?

[Kintua]

Emily shoots Cedany a look of confusion. "I doubt he can climb up a rope if he couldn't climb up the ladder." She sits on the edge of the hole in the floor and plants her feet on the ladder. "However, he might need that rope tied around him so we can drag him up, so I'm gonna go meet our new friend."

Before anyone can respond, she has grabbed the sides of the ladder and begun sliding down into the darkness.

[BramsesII]

Anise

A sigh. "Charming."

Anise turns to the others to notice that Emily is already climbing down the ladder. "Well, it looks like we have a hero in our little impromptu party. Let's hope there's nothing particularly deadly down there."

The witch speaks a few words of magic, and her eyes light up again. She peers into the darkness, hoping to see something.

Casting Detect Magic
Spellcraft: [roll0]

On her back, the satchel with the monkey jiggles. The monkey is obviously agitated.

[Zero_Point]

The hold is dark, but enough light filters down from the open hatch for Emily to make out the large, complex looking machine of pipes and gears that dominates the rear end of the space. She can also see the forms of four bodies laid out around the hold, all dressed in clothes that mark them as sailors, though there is a strange, foreign quality to the clothes. Judging by how their skin is leathery and stretched tight, its fairly clear these men died of dehydration and starvation, likely from being locked in the hold.

As Emily surveys the scene, the voice speaks again, "Oy, it's 'bout time someone showed up, an' lucky me it 'appens to be a lovely lass," the voice seems to come from one of the bodies which is dressed a bit more ornately than the others. It wears a wide brimmed black hat on its head resplendent with an impressively large blue feather. The feather is held in place by an emerald broach, and the gemstone flickers with an inner light as the voice speaks, "Well, c'mon lass. Get me outta this stinkin hold."

[Kintua]

Emily thinks back on the stories of cursed treasures and skeleton crews, and decides that this situation is much more familiar territory than finding oneself in a glowing cave with a bunch of strangers. As such, she adopts a much more casual tone with the corpse.

"An' what the hell 'appened to you, cap'n? Tryin' to give orders from a shiny rock after years in the hold?" she mutters to the hat as she pulls it off of the skeleton and starts the climb back up the ladder.

She holds the brim of the hat with her teeth as she climbs, and halfway up the ladder stops so she can pull it out of her mouth and call into the cabin. "So uhh, this fella couldn't climb up himself because he's a little dead. Just a little though. You'll see what I mean." She replaces the hat in her mouth to finish the climb.

[Syekate]

The characteristic scowl has returned to Karn's face as Emily slips down into the hold. Given that she is not dead yet, can't be too dangerous. He climbs down the ladder before Emily starts coming back up with the hat, and holds the luminescent rock aloft to better get an idea of what the hold contains. Karn pokes around the dead bodies, searching pockets in clothing and corners of the room for valuables or indications of from whence these people may have come.

[nolongerchaos]

Lytria

"I... umm... wait, what? Things are getting really weird really fast. And today, I'm using having been transported from my glade to a glowy underground cavern by a magical mist as a baseline for weird. I... I don't even..."

Lytria leans up against the nearest wall and slides to the floor, shaking her head and running her hands through her hair.

[Zero_Point]

There is a scoff from the hat as Emily carries it up the ladder, "Ahm no the cap'in ye daft girly. He's the bloody body layin down below. Ahm jest a hat, canna ye see that?" the gemstone flickers with each spoken word, and its possible Emily saw the feather wiggle a bit, though that might have been nothing.

down in the hold Karn combs through the bodies but only finds a dozen coins of a currency he doesn't recognize. They seem to be made of brass and stamped with foreign symbols. the bodies themselves do not look entirely human. Though the are humanoid in nature, the thickness of the exposed bones suggests these were large, heavy people, and their arms appear over-long with large hands. They are of no race Karn can identify.

[Syekate]

Karn stuffs the coins he finds into his pack and climbs back up the ladder to find the others. No point hiding what he found; some of these folk are smarter by far, and any clues might help them out of this mess. "Strange bodies. Long arms. Had coin," he states, tossing one of the brass coins onto the table by the fey for the group to see. He gives a sideways glance of wariness at the talking hat, but does little to address it directly.

[BramsesII]

Anise

A monkey's head pops out of the satchel on Anise's back and screeches once very loudly before returning to hiding. The witch thumps on the satchel. "Stop that Irini! This is no time to be playing." She looks at Cedany, then down at Lytria who is now sitting on the floor. "Weird is a very mild way to put it, miss. I believe this situation is, as my brother Relis would say... 'Balls-to-the-wall bonkers'." Anise shakes her head. "He isn't the subtle one of the family."

She then turns her attention to Emily and her newly aqcuired friend. Hat. Friendhat. "Congratulations. You found a hat. At least it talks; maybe it can tell us something about where we are." She pauses, then continues. "And yes, we are on a ship, I am quite aware of that. What I mean is: what country, what continent... what world? Who or what are you, anyway? And what's with the creature in the lamp?"

She then quickly turns her attention to Karn. "Interesting. Better hold on to the coin. We'll get to that after we speak with Hatfield here." She nods towards the hat in Emily's hands.

[nolongerchaos]

Lytria

Slowly, Lytria lifts herself from the floor with a sigh and, reaching a standing position, rubs her eyes and gives her head a quick shake.

"Your brother sounds like quite the gentleman, Ms. Anise. Well Hattington, what have you got to say for yourself?"

[Zero_Point]

The hat lets out what sounds like a whistle as it emerges from the hold, "Aren't ah a lucky one. So many lovely lasses," it comments. In response to Anise the hat seems surprised, "Ye mean ye don' know where ye are? 'Ave ye been livin under a rock lass? Yer in Undergloom, on the shore of the Glimmer Sea," the hat explains, "Me name is Tatter, an' ahm a Glimmer Grimoire. She," and the hat seems to be indicating the fey in the lamp, "is a pyre pixie. How do ye not know what a pyre pixie is? She fuels the bloody ship if ye feed her," Tatter seems appalled by the groups lack of knowledge, "Which of ye is captain then? Ye'd best don ol'Tatter before ye get yerselves inta trouble."

[Syekate]

Karn crosses his arms with a sour look and addresses the rest of the group. "Hrmph. Old captain dead."

[BramsesII]

Anise

The witch, having turned towards the hat, reacts annoyed when he insinuates she has been living under a rock. "Actually, I have been living in a mansion. In a swamp. Most likely very far from here. So you'll forgive me if I am not completely up to speed with the technologies of your civilization." She rubs the back of her neck. "Well... No matter. Well met, Tatter the Hatter. I am assuming that being a 'Glimmer Grimoire' means that you impart some sort of vital knowledge to whomever wears you on their head?"

Anise turns towards the others, speaking to Karn first who has volunteered yet another wealth of information. "Dead. I see. Well, I think we should probably elect a new captain." She turns to the rest of the group. "I'd advise against electing myself, as I have no knowledge whatsoever about ships. What do you think, captain obvious?" She looks at Karn again quickly, before turning to Lytria to look her straight in the eyes. "You seem quite competent, miss Lytria. Perhaps you would like to be captain?" Then, the witch turns to Emily. "Or how about you? A certain courage is required of a captain. I have a feeling you have that in spades." Finally, turning to Cedany, she looks the girl straight in the eyes. "And you, miss Cedany? Do you have the makings of a captain?"

She looks over her shoulder to peek at the suspiciously quiet monkey-containing-satchel to confirm that Irini is still there before turning back to the group. "Either way, whoever thinks they make a good captain should speak up and don Hattington here. I don't fancy spending the rest of my life stuck on a metal boat."

[Syekate]

"Either way, whoever thinks they make a good captain should speak up and don Hattington here. I don't fancy spending the rest of my life stuck on a metal boat."

"Neither did they," Karn says, pointing to the hold to indicate the multiple bodies there. Karn stands a little straighter and scratches at his thick tangle of beard. "Don't trust it," he says with a chin thrust in the hat's direction.

[Kintua]

"I don't think we have anything to do other than trust him, Karn." Emily looks down at the hat in her hands, brushing some dust off of him.

"I don't know how this ship in particular works, but I know how most ships work. I'll be captain for now, and we can put it to an actual vote once we actually know what we're doing. First thing's first though. What do you feed a fire fairy?" She starts pulling stuff out of the inside of the hat as she speaks, removing cobwebs and bits of the dead captain. When she's done, she takes a deep breath and sets Tatter on her head, half expecting something awful, like the hat growing teeth, to happen as she does.

[BramsesII]

Anise


"I don't think we have anything to do other than trust him, Karn." Emily looks down at the hat in her hands, brushing some dust off of him.

Anise interjects. "Captain obvious has a point. A short point, but a point nonetheless. Still, we don't have a choice. Let's hope we don't end up like the poor sods down there." She nods towards the hatch leading to the hold below.


"I don't know how this ship in particular works, but I know how most ships work. I'll be captain for now, and we can put it to an actual vote once we actually know what we're doing. First thing's first though. What do you feed a fire fairy?"

Shaking her head, the witch answers. "I'm afraid I have no idea. Either we feed it fire and it powers the ship with it, or we feed it something else and it powers the ship with fire. Could go both ways, really. As for you being temporary captain, that works for me." She pats the satchel with Irini in it. "And Irini agrees as well. It's best to have someone who has at least some basic knowledge of sailing as our captain."

[Zero_Point]

When Emily puts on the hat it at first feels too large for her head. Then slowly it seems to tighten until it fits comfortably. Nothing seems to happen, then very slowly new information seems to materialize in her mind. She suddenly finds that she knows the ship they are standing on is called a tramp steamer, and that its engine is a magical machine powered by raw magic. She knows that putting the lamp containing the pyre pixie into the furnace and feeding her something flammable will power the engine.

[Kintua]

"True enough, although I'm not so sure basic knowledge is gonna cut it. I'm glad Irini has confidence in my abilities, but I don't even know how to get this thing movement without wi--" Emily's eyes widen as Tatter tightens around her head. She stammers a few syllables as the sudden understanding of the ship hits her like a brick. She regains her composure quickly, standing up straighter and speaking more quickly as she begins darting around the cabin.

"Paper wood coal anything" she grabs the pyre pixie's lantern and sets it inside the magical furnace "Ye had the right o'it Anise, th' pyre pixie fuels th' ship if we feed 'er. Not wi' fire though, just magic. Not sure 'ow tha' works yet, gimme a moment. " She snaps her fingers several times, trying to think of something useful to feed the pixie with "Clothing! Someone get th' clothes from the bodies in th' hold. Rifle through th' pockets an' if there's any patches on 'em cut 'em out, we might be able to learn more if we keep any symbols. Everythin' else we can tear to strips an' give to th' little lass." She dashes to the helm and starts examining the gauges and dials "Pressure, speed, compass marked oddly... Of course! North and south wouldn' make sense down here. Tatter, I'm gonna need ye to 'splain those t' me in a mo'." Her hands come to rest on the wheel, and she calms down a bit, although her confidence is still shining in her eyes. "All hands set to sail? Let's get this beauty back in the water!"

[Syekate]

Karn's expression makes it abundantly clear that he disapproves of the situation, but with no better option, he grudgingly gets to work on the grisly business of disrobing the desiccated corpses. Provided they are not too heavy, he hauls them up from the hold onto the main deck one by one and tears their clothes off for rags. If nobody stops him, he then unceremoniously dumps the carcasses over the rail onto the rock ledge to be left behind. No point shipping off with a bunch of stiffs below decks.

[BramsesII]

Anise

With Emily suddenly taking command, Anise decides to assist Karn in the hold. She leaps down through the hatch, ignoring the ladder, and she lands on the floor light as a feather. "Shall we?" she says as Karn is already busy. The witch immediately helps Karn strip the bodies of clothes before assisting him in hauling them up and throwing them overboard.

Once that's done, she looks at Emily. "Well then, captain. I'd say we have plenty of fuel to get us going at least. Shall we be off?"

[nolongerchaos]

Lytria

As Karn and Anise set to work on the bodies, Lytria walks over to the furnace and looks at the fire fairy again. With a pitying expression, she looks up to Emily.

"So, does she have a say in all this? I sort of get the impression she isn't exactly a fuel source by choice, and while I understand her importance in powering this monstrosity, it seems an awful lot like slave labor to me...

On an unrelated note though, if ol' Hattington is a 'Glimmer Grimoire, and we're on the banks of the Glimmer Sea, does that mean he can pass you more useful information as to our relative whereabouts and what else is around here?"

[Sephir]

Holding her nose, Cedany helps stripping the corpse from clothing. After all is said and done, she leans to the edge of the boat that point to the sea, and promptly meets up with her dinner as she pukes her innards up. She had never seen a "dead" body, only the illusions she used in her school training.

[BramsesII]

Anise

From the corner of her eye, Anise notices Cedany evacuating the contents of her stomach. The witch raises an eyebrow, but then ultimately decides to go check up on the girl. "Excuse me a moment, captain." she nods to Emily as she turns around and walks over to the girl puking her innards out over the side of the ship.

Leaning her hands on the railing next to Cedany, Anise looks at the girl and smiles slightly. "Are you okay? The ship hasn't even set sail yet. Not that that's going to happen but... you know, figure of speech."

[Sephir]

S-sorry....Di-d not meant to cause a fuss Cedany stammers as she cleans herself up with prestidigitation , feeling a little better I'm just....not used on seeing things like this, corpses i mean. To be honest worst thing i saw was a two inch cut from a sword back in the academy. I'll try not to cause more fuss, promise. She smiles softly as her stomach balance itself, if slightly. I knew i shouldn't have tried the hook horror kabobs

[Syekate]

Hauling the last body over the side, Karn gets to work sorting out any useful tarpaulin or ropes from the above decks from that Which might be of more use as flames for the pyre pixie. "Ready to go?" he calls to their new captain.

[BramsesII]

Anise

The witch arches a brow at Cedany's comment regarding hook horrors. "I'm not entirely sure what 'hook horror kabobs' are supposed to be, but to be honest it does not sound very appetizing. Do you think you'll have similar troubles while we out on the water, or is this simply because of the dead bodies? Otherwise, this trip might become quite the ordeal for you. You know... if it isn't one already."

She looks over her shoulder towards the cabin with the others. "Either way, I'd suggest getting used to the smell of dead bodies. I have a feeling this is not the last time we'll see them. It's not a very pleasant sight, I know, but it's not that horrible." She turns around to get back to the others. "Shall we?"

[Kintua]

Lytria

As Karn and Anise set to work on the bodies, Lytria walks over to the furnace and looks at the fire fairy again. With a pitying expression, she looks up to Emily.

"So, does she have a say in all this? I sort of get the impression she isn't exactly a fuel source by choice, and while I understand her importance in powering this monstrosity, it seems an awful lot like slave labor to me...

On an unrelated note though, if ol' Hattington is a 'Glimmer Grimoire, and we're on the banks of the Glimmer Sea, does that mean he can pass you more useful information as to our relative whereabouts and what else is around here?"

"Not sure whether she has a say in it, but she didn't seem too excited about the attempt to free her. Howsabout we let her do what she does for now and try to find a better fuel source along the way, yeah?" Emily doesn't turn to speak to her, still looking out across the bow of the ship. She adjusts her new sentient headwear with one hand, and drums on the helm with the other. "As for Tatter tellin' us where we are and where we might be headed, I reckon we'll find out."


S-sorry....Di-d not meant to cause a fuss Cedany stammers as she cleans herself up with prestidigitation , feeling a little better I'm just....not used on seeing things like this, corpses i mean. To be honest worst thing i saw was a two inch cut from a sword back in the academy. I'll try not to cause more fuss, promise. She smiles softly as her stomach balance itself, if slightly. I knew i shouldn't have tried the hook horror kabobs

A grin stretches across the sailor's face. "Hah! Not much of a fuss at all. No many can meet a few rotten corpses and get out with their lunch intact their first time around. For now, though, out of sight, out of mind."


Anise

The witch arches a brow at Cedany's comment regarding hook horrors. "I'm not entirely sure what 'hook horror kabobs' are supposed to be, but to be honest it does not sound very appetizing. Do you think you'll have similar troubles while we out on the water, or is this simply because of the dead bodies? Otherwise, this trip might become quite the ordeal for you. You know... if it isn't one already."

She looks over her shoulder towards the cabin with the others. "Either way, I'd suggest getting used to the smell of dead bodies. I have a feeling this is not the last time we'll see them. It's not a very pleasant sight, I know, but it's not that horrible." She turns around to get back to the others. "Shall we?"

"We shall." Emily fiddles with the dash, setting everything so that, hopefully, the ship will move off the rock when they feed the pixie. Satisfied, she walks to the pile of rags next to the furnace and picks a few up. She spends the next few seconds trying to figure out how to get them into the lantern for their glowing companion.

[Sephir]

Yeah, i am feeling a little better now Cedany says meekly, following Anise as she smiles softly Never been in a boat, perhaps it be seasickness, but it would be a pretty bad at that if if happens on a grounded ship. Thanks for concern though

[Zero_Point]

Tatter seems to wiggle a bit on Emily's head, and Emily knows he is referring to the compass device, [color=blue]"Each o' the symbols represents a port o' the Glimmer. Takes a bit o' spell learnin, but ye can tune the wayfinder to point to a specific port. Looks like she's still tuned to Gambit Wharf," the hat explains.

The pyre pixie watches the commotion around her with curiosity, and when Lytria asks about the little fey's choice in matters, Tatter pipes in, "Oh dun let her wee size fool ye lass. Pyre pixies are tricky blighters. Suren she'd burn ye all if she got loose. Keep her contained and feed her an' she'll be happy enough."

The lamp fits snugly into the furnace, and it's a simple matter to drop the scraps of cloth down the glass chimney. the pyre pixie wrinkles her little nose at them and makes a disgusted face as she picks them up, and they quickly burst into flames along with the rest of the little fey. Blue fire fills the lamp, obscuring the pixie from sight, and very slowly the group can hear what sounds like steam building somewhere below deck. After a moment, there is a slow chug, and the entire ship shudders as the engine kicks into motion.

[Syekate]

Karn grabs the railing to steady himself as the mechanical monstrosity shudders beneath him.Unsure of what happens next, he keeps a lookout around them to make sure the sudden noise did not attract any unwanted visitors.

[roll0]

[BramsesII]

Anise

The witch stumbles forward when the ship suddenly lurches into motion, and she manages to catch herself on the doorpost of the cabin to keep from falling over. Slightly embarassedly, she looks at the others. "Well then. I suppose we're heading to Gambit's Wharf, then. Unless anyone knows of a better place to go, of course. Like, say, an island with beautiful weather where we can spend a few days enjoying the sunshine." She looks around. "I miss the sunshine, actually. It's all rather gloomy here. Much more so than in the swamp."

[Kintua]

Emily breaks into a mad laugh as the steamer starts to move. She turns back towards the helm and tries to turn the ship so it'll head straight for Gambit's Wharf. "Alright, crew, I need someone at the bow on lookout, I need someone to start exploring and let me know where the anchors are, whether or not we've got weapons aboard, and anything else interesting, and I need someone who knows magic in the cabin with me to help figure out the wayfinder. We're on our way to Gambit's Wharf, and I want to know this ship inside and out before we get there!"

[Sephir]

As the ship began to move, Cedany felt the dizziness and moving in her stomach as before. "It was not the corpses" She muttered, as she began to move to the cabin with Emily. At least she would not puke for the remainder of the day. She hoped she would gain her sea legs soon.

[Syekate]

Having decent eyes, Karn takes position at what he is fairly sure is the bow for lookout, continuing his vigilance.

[BramsesII]

Anise


"It was not the corpses"

The witch is about to suggest that Cedany and Lytria search the ship when she notices that Cedany is not feeling well at all. She lets out a sigh, and the head of a monkey comes poking out of the satchel on her back. The creature screeches something before disappearing again, and Anise pats the satchel for it to be quiet. "Very well, I'll have a look around the ship then. I'd prefer not to have to do so alone, though. Who knows what else lurks in here."

Once someone has volunteered to join her in searching the ship, Anise sets off to find out exactly what sort of ship and what sort of supplies they are dealing with.

[nolongerchaos]

Lytria

Lytria nods appreciatively to the hat for its infomation and sways slightly as the boat takes off, then gives a smile as Emily starts giving orders.

"Glad to see our captain knows what she's doing. Yes sir, I can accompany Miss Anise around the ship, to allow Miss Cedany some time to get used to the boat and gain her sea legs. Not that I'm particularly steady on my feet yet, but I don't think my complexion is quite so green...

[BramsesII]

Anise

The witch nods to Lytria. "Good. Let's get going, shall we?" A monkey's head comes popping out of the satchel on Anise's back, and Irine climbs out onto Anise's shoulder to help her mistress seek out hidden things.

The first thing she does is walk around the deck, to get an idea of where the doors towards lower decks and holds are. Once that is clear, Anise heads back into the cabin, reporting her findings to Emily before leaping down into the hold with the bodies. Light as a feather she descends until she touches the floor, then, she mutters a few words, and her earring lights up, shedding light out to a distance of 20 or so feet. The witch begins looking around for doors leading to other compartments in the ship. As she searches, she idly chats, trying to get to know Lytria a little better.

"So, miss Lytria. What is it you do, normally? Are you a traveller, an adventurer? And if so, do you travel alone or with friends? Family?"

[Kintua]

Emily nods through the doorway at Anise. "Good on ya."

"Cedany, it looks like you're in here with me. Having some walls up might do you some good." She beckons her closer to the helm and taps on the wayfinder. "You're one o' the people what was tryin' to figure the pyre pixie out. Which means you know a bit o' magic, yeah? You were a little indisposed when Tatter mentioned it, but my navigator's gonna need some tricks up her sleeve to work this thing."

[Sephir]

I don't know about tricks, but i am quite sure i have studies enough in the academy to know of such things. Cedany said meekly as she moves to the wayfinder, her nausea getting slightly better on an enclosed space.

[nolongerchaos]

Lytria

Lytria follows Anise to the deck, and as she does so, she once again casts a spell, causing her eyes to glow as she searches the ship.


"So, miss Lytria. What is it you do, normally? Are you a traveller, an adventurer? And if so, do you travel alone or with friends? Family?"

"Oh, umm, well... to be honest, mostly just goof around. Mom was an adventurer 'til Dad died, then she took me to be raised with her family in the Verdant Sea, which I've always thought is a silly name for a magical forest... Anyhow, Mom's been hinting pretty stongly for the past few years that she wants me to join the Border Scouts like she did when she was young, but it seems like more responsibility than I care for...

How about you? I think I remember you mentioning a swamp...? Also, where and how did you meet the monkey? He really is positively adorable."

Lytria cast Detect Magic to aid in her search of the boat.

[BramsesII]

Anise

The witch looks around carefully as she listens to Lytria, then she replies. "Interesting. I've never heard of the Verdant Sea." She looks at Lytria for a moment, then turns her attention back to searching. "I was raised in a swamp, yes. Together with my brother Relis. I... am not sure what it's called, or why we live there. All I know is that we never left the swamp. My parents... did not allow us to." She pats Irini on the head, the monkey giving out a small squeek when she does so. "The monkey is my familiar Irini. And yes, she is very adorable. Sometimes."

"As for my family, well, they trained me in the art of magic, among other things. I never did have much contact with outsiders.. or other people, though. And when my parents disappeared.. well, life got a lot more complicated. But that's a long and boring story." Anise turns to Lytria and grins. "So what're these Border Scouts you have no interest in joining?"

[Syekate]

Karn prefers the quiet position of lookout over the unnecessary chatter of others. As they wait for the boat to take off, he traces his fingers along the hilt of one of his daggers, peering into the gloom as far as his almost-elven eyes will allow.

[nolongerchaos]

Lytria

"A familiar, eh? Maybe I should look into figuring out how to get one of those for myself, I hear they can be pretty handy.

Oh, right, the Scouts. Well as I mentioned, the Verdant Sea is pretty strongly magical. It's pretty common for poachers to try to sneak into the forest to get unicorn horns or wood from a Dryadoak, so the Scouts are there to watch the borders and protect the inhabitants of the forest. Sometimes they're forced to protect the stupider poachers though, those who get it into their heads that it's a good idea to try to collect green dragon scales or bark from an elder treant. Mostly the job is just lurking in the trees and scaring away the unwelcome though. Not really my cup of tea. Also each assignment with the Scouts lasts about ten years, which while mostly insignificant for full-blooded elves, is quite a while for a half-blood like me to just tie myself down for.

As for your own, and I quote, "long and boring story," as I understand it boat rides tend to be long and generally uneventful, so I don't think I'd mind hearing about your swamp as we... er... sail? Whatever it is magical boats without sails do."

[BramsesII]

Anise

The witch nods at Lytria. "That's true. I suppose we have time then... very well. Ten years on a scouting job does sound a bit long, though... Anyway."

"As I said: my parents, brother and I live in a swamp. Why that is, I don't know; they've never told us why. Not too long ago they suddenly disappeared. Which was... pretty traumatic, as you can imagine. Still, Relis and I are old enough to look after ourselves, and we have our loyal guard dog Cabot who keeps the house safe from enemies. Plus, by some strange magic a fully laid table with all the food we needed was standing there every morning. No idea how. Anyway, ever since my parents disappeared a group of lizardmen led by a man named Caéman have been harassing us, trying to get into our house to steal things. We've no idea why. They're deathly afraid of Cabot, but this morning one of them had apparently managed to sneak past the dog, because we saw him running away with one of my father's tomes. Relis grabbed his weapons and went after him, but when he didn't come back after noon, I decided to follow him. I left Cabot to guard the house and... well, I ended up here."

The witch looks at Lytria, then resumes searching the hold. "I guess it's not that long a story. Maybe I should tell you that it was my parents who taught me magic, and that Irini is the one who holds all my spells. She and I... commune every morning. What about yourself? I saw you casting a spell of some sort earlier, right?"

[Zero_Point]

The ship rumbles a bit as it pulls out into the water and begins to move away from the rock shelf. After a few seconds it seems to settle into a quiet hum, gliding across the dark, glassy surface.

At the bow of the ship Karn finds a rotatable spot light that he can turn on with the push of a button, casting a ghostly pale light out in front of the ship.

Lytria and Anise don't find much beyond what they have already discovered about the ship. The crane device seems to be broken and non-functional at the moment, but its pretty clear its purpose is to aid in loading and unloading cargo, and the main deck is wide and flat for storing crates and barrels. They collect roughly two hundred feet of usable rope and twenty feet of strong chain, as well as fifty square feet of heavy canvas tarps.

As the ship moves off into the darkness, small lights appear behind it on the rocky shelf. Peering behind them, the group can make out four alarmingly large crabs with angler bulbs sprouting from their heads climbing out of the water to inspect the corpses they left behind. They also notice a pair of lights following them just beneath the surface of the water. Emily is able to identify the creatures with Tatter's help and knows they are Angler Crabs, scavengers of the Glimmer.

[Syekate]

Karn is surprised to find the light that turns on with the push of a button, but magic has produced stranger and far more destructive effects. He angles the light all around them, and watches as the eerily large crabs creatures emerge from the depths to gnaw on dried flesh. As he swings the light back around to light their way, he notices the lights in the water following them, suspiciously similar to those on the shore. "Eyes open. More crabs on our trail," he calls to the others so no one is caught unawares should the beasties manage to find their way on deck. For the time being, though, he is content to keep an eye on them as the group sails on ahead.

[Kintua]

"Ha! I'll take it as a sign of good luck." Emily removes her scabbard and jams it between the spokes of the wheel to lock the helm on their current heading, and then starts to poke at the wayfinder to see if there are any parts she can mess with.

[BramsesII]

Anise

The ship lurches into motion, and Anise needs to steady herself on a nearby wall to avoid falling over. Irini is also surprised by the sudden motion of her mistress and the monkey latches onto Anise's hair, screeching in protest. "Hush, Irini, and let go of my hair. It's just the ship." She looks at Lytria. "Well, looks like our captain got the ship moving. We should probably report back what we found. We didn't miss anything, right?" The witch takes one last look around the hold before moving back towards the ladder, grabbing some rope to bring it with her up to the cabin. "There'll be plenty more time for stories later, I think. I have a feeling we're not going home just yet."

[nolongerchaos]

Lytria

Lytria takes one last quick glance around the hold. "Yeah, story time can pick back up later. Well, it doesn't look like we've missed anything. Not that I'm seeing anyway."

Heading back to the cabin, Lytria notes with interest Karn's light.

"Well Captain Emily, we found a good deal of rope, some heavy chains and some tarp, but aside from that, there seems to be not much else onboard.

And how are you Miss Cedany? Feeling any better? Did we miss anything exciting?"

[BramsesII]

Anise

Coming back up into the cabin after Lytria, Anise chimes in. "Indeed, we did not find much of use. Is there anything in particular you were hoping for, captain? The witch pats her monkey on the head, and the creature scrambles back into its satchel on Anise's back. "And is there anything else we can do right now?"

[Kintua]

Emily's jerks her attention away from the wayfinder. "Nothin' you haven't found, no. Jus' wanted to know if there were other entrances to the hold. Possibly if there were beds or hammocks down there, so we could plan to sleep ashore at Gambit's Wharf if necessary." She turns her head back to the compass-like object and starts talking without looking at them. "If you could help me n' Cedany figure this out, that'd be great, though. The more o' you magicky types know to work the thing, the better. Tatter, wanna give us a quick lesson?"

[BramsesII]

Anise

The witch walks up to Emily and Cedany, joining them in investigating the strange object that looks like a compass. Standing beside them, she flashes them both a small (friendly?) smile before turning her attention to the compass-like thingy. She mumbles as she examines it. "Hm... Unusual..." Irini comes climbing out of the satchel and perches herself on Anise's shoulder, looking at the compass as well. She almost seems to be whispering something into the witch's ear.

Anise nods, trying to figure out just how this thing might work just by studying it. "Hm.. maybe..." She rubs the bridge of her nose as she ponders.

Well, here's everything that might be relevant:
Knowledge (arcana): [roll0]
Knowlegde (planes): [roll1]
Perception: [roll2]
Spellcraft: [roll3]
Use magic device: [roll4]

[Zero_Point]

The wayfinder is a simple magical device. Through Tatter, Emily knows that it is designed to resonate with a corresponding marker located at each port on the Glimmer. So when it is attuned to one of the markers, it will point toward that port no matter where the ship is.

There is no physical way to set the wayfinder, but Anise finds it simple to move the needle of the wayfinder to a new destination, though besides the symbol Tatter has identified as Gambit Wharf, she doesn't know what any of the other symbols mean.

[BramsesII]

Anise

Fiddling a bit with the device, Anise easily finds out how to operate it. Or at least, to set it to a new destination. "So, I know how it works. Does anyone want to go to a destination that is not Gambit's Wharf? Because I think we should head there, if only because we know what it's named." She looks at the others in the group, specifically Emily and her hat. "Perhaps Hatman can tell us something about other destination on the Glimmer, captain?"

[Syekate]

Karn doesn't pay too much attention to those in the cabin figuring out how the ship works. All he wants is to be back in his marshes, the comfortable smell of the salty muck, the familiar droning of flies and mosquitoes. As he ruminates on what may have brought him to this strange place, he aims the light to the left and right and upwards to see just high the ceiling above them might be.

[nolongerchaos]

Lytria

In response to Emily's request regarding the compass, Lytria leans in towards it briefly to get a better look, then leans back with a shrug. "Sorry, I don't think I can tell you anything new about this thing. My magic is more intuitive than scholarly, and I've been known to have trouble with mundane compasses, so I'm just going to go ahead and say that anything I might learn, more likely than not, will be neither correct nor useful."


"Does anyone want to go to a destination that is not Gambit's Wharf? Because I think we should head there, if only because we know what it's named."

Lytria looks over at Anise with bit of a grin. "You know, typically I'd generally prefer a heading by the name of 'Pleasanton Cove' or 'The Peaceful Isle,' but with all this newfangled adventure being suddenly thrust upon me, Gambit's Wharf sounds enjoyably risky. I'm game to gamble on our present course."

[BramsesII]

Anise

The witch giggles at Lytria's little joke. The smile on her face doesn't fade as she replies. "Well, if you squint and turn your head just right, this one looks like it says 'Fun-time Bay' which sounds like it could be... Well... A fun time."

She pauses for a moment, looking at the compass, then looks back at Lytria. "It probably says something else though. Good thing too, because with a name like that it could also easily be a... Uh... 'house of pleasure'."

[Kintua]

"I'm gonna stay our course unless Tatter decides to clue us in on anything better. Gambits are the opening decisions of poker an' chess an' such, I like the idea of that bein' our first stop."

Emily moves away from the wayfinder and places her hands back on the wheel. She calls up to the bow. "Karn! How're you holdin' up?"

[Syekate]

"No problems yet," Karn replies with particular emphasis on the last word. He then hocks and spits a glob of phlegm into the water out of boredom and distaste for this little adventure.

[BramsesII]

Anise

The young witch nods. "Very well. I'm going to have a look at the water. Call me when you require assistance." She makes her way outside and Irini climbs onto her shoulder. The monkey begins chewing on Anise's beret, and so the witch is forced to dig a few treats out of her pack for the creature to keep her headwear from being eaten.

[byzantineblue]

"Perhaps Hatman can tell us something about other destination on the Glimmer, captain?"[/COLOR]

"Weel, the thing aboot that is, ahm a Glimmer Grimoire. Ye'll not run aground or split yer hull with meself aboard. But if ye want to know aboot the ports, weel, that's a different story..." [[changing the hat's color to navy to avoid confusion]]


As he ruminates on what may have brought him to this strange place, he aims the light to the left and right and upwards to see just high the ceiling above them might be.

The ceiling here is only about forty feet overhead. Fungi in warm colors grow all across it, some of them glowing faintly. They give the low ceiling the appearance of the night sky, dotted with points of light and streaked with glowing nebulae.

[Syekate]

Karn quietly begins to hum a tune, too low to be heard by anyone except those that might be standing nearby. It is slow and deep, and his voice clearly wasn't made to hold a steady note, but it is a show of unexpected emotion from the gruff quiet man as he gazes up at the false stars above.

[BramsesII]

Anise

The young witch takes up a position beside Karn to look out over the water. She offers Irini another treat before striking up a conversation. "So, Captain Obvious. Anything happening out here?"

[Syekate]

Karn abruptly stops his humming when the monkey-toting magic woman comes up behind him. He angles the light back downward to light the way ahead of them. "Hm. Not really, Idiot," the ranger says without making eye contact. He swings the light back again to check on the large crab creatures that appeared to be following them earlier on either side of the boat.

[byzantineblue]

The glowing lights are still nearby, one on each side of the boat. They're deeper than they were before, hardly visible as they keep pace with the steamer.

[BramsesII]

Anise

The young witch nods. "Well, at least that means there's no trouble." She spots the lights in the deep. "Any idea what those are?"

[Sephir]

Cedany was short of busy trying not to throw up in the other side of the ship, but still replied ." I dunno, I heard some to say its some kind of glowing crab ??? Good thing is, well probably gather some attention with all this glow . Bad news are....well I didn't say it was necessarily the good kind of attention did I ?"

[Syekate]

"No idea. Dead bodies interested them. Maybe scavengers?" Karn angles the light back into position so they can see ahead, but still holds onto the glowing rock so as to illuminate the surrounding area.

[byzantineblue]

As he moves the light, one of the crabs approaches the surface and bumps into the side of the tramp steamer, rocking it.

[Syekate]

Karn instinctively reaches out and grabs the rail as the ship shudders beneath them. "Maybe not just scavengers..." he mutters as they lurch back. He aims the light to the side of the ship where they were hit to see if they can get a good view of the beast.

[byzantineblue]

It remains only a dark shape under the water, flanking the boat.

[Kintua]

Emily jerks the wheel to compensate for the rocking almost immediately. "Alright crew, we've got two choices. Stop and lure 'em on board where we can kill 'em, or speed up and hope to outrun them. You have two seconds to vote!"

[BramsesII]

Anise

Anise is nearly flung from her feet as the boat suddenly rocks. The monkey on her shoulder shrieks and dives back into it's hiding place. Once Anise has steadied herself, she leans back over the side to see if she can make out the outline of the crab, hopefully to dissuade it from further attacking them. She yells out in response to Emily.

"I say we fight them. Unless you can suddenly make us go three or so times faster."

[Sephir]

"I say we fight as well " Cedany blurts out after emptying her insides soon after the ship was rocked. Staggering after the other side where the others have gathered. She took a mean look at the crab as she gathered her magical power, drawing a vial of a greenish Fluid . 'Why lure it ? I can pelt it with spells from here if needed. Nothing much, but i can kill it given enough time"

[Syekate]

"It ain't attacked yet," calls out Karn, swinging around the light to the opposite side to see if the port crab has changed position. "Could be tasty, though," he adds.

[byzantineblue]

By the time you look, the crab on the port side has already latched on to the side of the boat and is preparing to climb up, the stalk growing from its head with the glowing bulb waving ridiculously with the air currents.

Karn [roll0]
Lytria [roll1] (if she's still here)
Emily [roll2]
Anise [roll3]
Sephir [roll4]
Crabs [roll5]

Those who move before the enemies, post in whatever order to move things along. It's okay if you want to set contingencies for if something specific happens before your turn comes. I will condense all the actions into a single post with the enemies' actions. Then all players will post and combat will continue in the same way.

[Syekate]

So much for talk. Karn's bow is out in a flash with an arrow on the string. He lets it fly at the crab attached to the ship, another arrow following it within seconds.

Rapid shot with the longbow:
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Attack: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]

[Sephir]

With the words ready in her mouth, Cedany utters a spell, throwing a small orb of acid to the crab

Ranged touch attack [roll0](+1 from high ground)
damage [roll1](using acid bottle as focus for +1 dmg

[BramsesII]

Anise

As the others launch devastating attacks Anise attempts to get into the crab's mind, trying to plant the seed of doubt in there so that it'll be less effective in a fight. In her familiar satchel, the monkey screeches.

Using Evil Eye (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/witch/hexes/common-hexes/hex-evil-eye-su) to drop the crab's AC by 2 (7 rounds, will save DC 15 to reduce the penalty to 1 round)

[Kintua]

Not having seen anything to avoid ahead, Emily only slows the ship down slightly. In one fluid motion, she draws her rapier and moves to stand between her occupied crew and where she expects the starboard crab to come on deck.

Move to. Uh. Move.
Readied action to attack the crab on the starboard side if it comes close enough. Rolling now to make things easier.
Hit: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[byzantineblue]

Karn's arrow bounces off the thick armor of the crab, but it flinches when Anise stares at it intently. Emily moves into the middle of the deck, and Cedany's acid orb sizzles as it connects. The crab moves up to just below the railing and strikes over it, lashing out with its claws at Anise and Cedany. The starboard crab latches onto the hull and climbs up to the same position, but doesn't step on deck yet.

Vs. Anise [roll0] Anise gets +2 AC from the railing. Damage: [roll1]
Vs. Cedany [roll2] Cedany gets +2 AC from the railing. Damage: [roll3]

http://orig14.deviantart.net/c519/f/2015/117/6/4/steamertopdeck_by_proudtortoise-d8r96ba.png

[Syekate]

"Hm." Plan B, then. Karn drops his bow onto the deck and unsheathes his falchion, swinging it in an overhead arc down to slice at the crab below.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Kintua]

"Fine, I'll come to you." Emily dashes across the short distance to the crab and jabs at it over the railing to keep it from coming at her crew's backs.

Move and attack.
Hit: [roll0]
Damage [roll1]

[Sephir]

" Xhoke on this you overgrown crustacean !" Cedany yells, raising her blade as the sword is filled with electrical jolts, stabbing where the crab's ugly mouth is.


Attack roll [roll0]
Long sword damage [roll1] plus Shocking grasp damage [roll2]

[BramsesII]

Anise

The witch yelps as the crab's claw leaves a large gash in her arm. "GAH!"

Anise backs away from the railing (and the crab), pulling out her crossbow as she does so. She loads up a bolt...

5 ft step back, away from the crab
Move action to draw crossbow
Move action to load crossbow

[byzantineblue]

Everyone's attacks rebound uselessly off the dark carapaces of the two crabs.

Vs. Karn [roll0] Karn gets +2 AC from the railing. Damage: [roll1]
Vs. Cedany [roll2] Cedany gets +2 AC from the railing. Damage: [roll3]
Vs. Emily [roll4] Emily gets +2 AC from the railing. Damage: [roll5]
Vs. Emily [roll6] Emily gets +2 AC from the railing. Damage: [roll7]

http://orig10.deviantart.net/b9ba/f/2015/118/3/f/steamertopdeck_by_proudtortoise-d8rfex8.png

[Syekate]

Karn kicks away the offending claw with some ease and, reflecting on how this is by far the most awkward fight he's ever had against a crustacean, brings his falchion down upon the crab in hopes of cracking through the shell.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Kintua]

Emily smirks as one of the crab's claws gets caught on the rail and easily slips past the other. She thrusts at it again, this time planting her feet to prepare for the crab's next attack.

Attacking
Hit: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

If it attacks again, spending a panache point to use Opportune Parry and Riposte. (Spend attack of opportunity for a chance to make an attack miss, then, if successful, immediate action to attack.)

[Sephir]

This time Cedany takes on the defensive , using her sword to distract the crab before she casted a spell. A shimmering field appears around her, warding her from more blows. That thing hurt and she didn't wanted to feel it again

Attack [roll0]
Damage [roll1]
Casting shield

[BramsesII]

Anise

The witch takes yet another step back, aiming for the crab tangling with Emily. After all, less chance to hit an ally if there's only one involved in the melee. She lets fly, immediately followed by her loading another bolt on her crossbow.

5ft step backward
Standard action to attack the crab fighting Emily:

Attack (-4 for firing into melee): [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Move action to reload crossbow

[byzantineblue]

All the attacks are useless against the crabs' carapaces, serving to do nothing more than annoy them, it seems. The crab fighting Emily seems to have had enough of the railing getting in its way. The crustacean crawls over the railing and past her before attacking, leaving its flank open to an attack as it does so. The other crab carries on with its attacks, reaching awkwardly around the railing.

Vs. Karn [roll0] Karn gets +2 AC from the railing. Damage: [roll1]
Vs. Cedany [roll2] Cedany gets +2 AC from the railing. Damage: [roll3]
Vs. Emily [roll4] Vs the riposte. (The attack from that doesn't hit.) Damage: [roll5]
Emily, make an AoO on the OoC thread.

http://orig13.deviantart.net/8946/f/2015/119/8/3/steamertopdeck_by_proudtortoise-d8rjl0z.png

[Syekate]

Karn parries the crab's claw, and looks around to find that Emily is dealing with the other creature on her own. Nobody seems to have much success right now, but the other crab's back is open to him, ripe for the flank attack. He shuffles away from his current opponent and brings his sword down upon the backside of the crab on deck.

Five foot step to leave the railing crab, and move as necessary to flank.
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Kintua]

As the crab passes her, Emily manages to get the tip of her rapier under its carapace. She allows the crab's momentum to do the work for her, punching the blade through the opening and feeling it hit the underside of its now-useless armor. Skirting around the creature's corpse, she moves to stand next to Cedany and sends a less calculated thrust at the portside crustacean.

Result of the AoO.
That looks like a 25-foot move to me, so yeah that works.
Hit: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Sephir]

"Just die already !"Cedany yells angrily as the crab slashes her, her blade engulfed in a white light as she strikes the crab again. If this attack didnt hit, nothing would.


True strike, then attack [roll0]
Damage [roll1]

[BramsesII]

Anise

The young witch steps aside towards the railing, takes aim, and fires a bolt at the remaining crab. Then, she loads up another one, just in case.

5ft step towards the railingStandard action to attack crab:

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Move action to load crossbow

[byzantineblue]

Emily's attack shatters a section of the crab's shell, revealing raw tissue. The crab lets out a deep, croaking sound and begins removing its claws from the railing, but not before Cedany gouges out most of its head. It collapses, falling into the sea and floating just beneath the surface. The lights on both crabs' heads remain lit even in death.

[BramsesII]

Anise

With both crabs dead, Anise removes the loaded bolt from her crossbow. She lets out a heavy sigh as her adrenaline drops, and she notices the gash on her arm. Wincing, she puts the crossbow away again. "Ow. That was painful. Is everyone alright?"

Out of her familiar satchel a curious monkey head pops up...

[Sephir]

"D-define alright..." Cedany stuttered, holding a wound on her gut as she sheathed her sword "Damned things, thank goodness i was wearing a chain shirt or they would have disemboweled me"

[Syekate]

Karn looks over the edge of the railing at the crab bobbing under the surface of the water. Going in after the body for salvage seems too risky for his taste. Instead he picks up his bow to sling over a shoulder and turns to the crab corpse on deck. The ranger starts picking at the carapace sections to get inside, see if there is anything he can salvage from the remains. He saves the light on its head for last, seeing if he can carefully dismantle it to be used as a regular light source.

Survival check to determine if maybe the crab can provide a little food for them, test the hardness of the shell to see if there is anything useful to be had.
Survival: [roll0]

[byzantineblue]

The shell doesn't seem like it would be that useful, but there's quite a lot of meat in this thing. It's probably safe to eat, although you aren't certain.

[Kintua]

Seeing Cedany holding her gut, Emily winces. "Oof, that looks like it hurt. I'd try to help out myself, but I'd probably end up making it worse." She heads to the cabin to make sure the ship is still headed the right way, and to bring them back up to speed. "Let's see if we can't get you patched up at Gambit's Wharf, yeah?"

[BramsesII]

Anise

The witch walks over to Cedany, putting a hand on her shoulder as a sort of reassurance. "I could take a look, but unfortunately I have no curative magics prepared. Do you think you'll be alright for now?" The monkey on her shoulder meanwhile has leapt onto the deck and is investigating one of the dead crabs.

Anise keeps her attention on Cedany, though. "If you start feeling lightheaded, let me know. Perhaps we can find something to improve your situation." She looks at her arm and mutters. "Should probably follow my own advice as well..."

"Perhaps our scout has some knowledge of non-magical healing?"

[Syekate]

Karn looks up from his dissection, waving an irritated hand at the monkey to get it to leave the corpse, much as one would dismissively wave off a fly. "Hm? Oh," he says, scratching his beard with a hand oily with crab juice. "Lie down," he indicates for Cedany to head to a bunk in the cabin. The grungy half-elf sets his pack down on deck with a heavy grunt and digs around for a few seconds. Soon, he pulls from its depths an iron pot large enough to cook a decent stew in. Tying a rope to one handle, he drops it into the water, and pulls it back up, sloshing liquid within. "We'll need fire."

[byzantineblue]

The clear water is salty and a few small crabs have gotten into the pot. One even has a light stalk on its forehead like the giant crabs you fought.

[BramsesII]

Anise

With Karn looking at the wounds of Cedany, Anise decides to join Emily in the cabin to see if she needs assistance with anything. Her monkey follows close behind. "Well. That was interesting." She winces as a small wave causes her to bump her sore arm into the doorframe. "Ouch... That hurts."

The monkey quickly climbs via her pant leg up to her shoulder, where it perches itself as it begins plucking... something... out of Anise's hair. She doesn't react, as she's obviously used to this behavior. "Did you need help with anything here?"

[Sephir]

" G-good idea" Cedany stammers at the suggestion of lying down, wincing in pain as she moves inside to tend to her wounds . She had already removed her chain shirt when she entered the cabin , with her ruined dress and undergarments . "S-sorry..." she eked out while blushing " I was looking for some bandages....didn't mean to interrupt you...what's that monkey doing ?"

[BramsesII]

Anise

The witch smiles faintly as Cedany walks in. She tries not to look at the rather messy state of the girl's armor and garments, instead focusing on looking at her face, or some point behind her. When asked about the monkey she shrugs, and Irini lets out a disapproving squeak. "Irini? Oh, it's a monkey thing. She does that a lot, keeps her distracted and I find it oddly soothing for some reason." Anise cannot help but glance at Cedany's wound, and she winces as she's reminded of the crab's sharp claws.

"I'm not sure if we have bandages in here. You just... lay down before we have to pick your guts up off the floor. I'll go have a look around to see if I can find any." She steps up to Cedany and puts a hand on her shoulder, ushering the girl towards a place where she can lie down. "Here. I'll go look around."

Once certain that Cedany's not going to be doing much more moving around, Anise begins her search for bandages, or anything that could be used as such.

Perception roll: [roll0]

[byzantineblue]

You find a galley in a room inside the aftcastle, accessed through a door in the back of the pilot house. There's a medicine kit in one of the cabinets near the door.

[Syekate]

Using two of the torches from his pack, Karn has the water going at a good boil by now. The little crabs were first removed and tossed or kicked over the edge of the boat, so what was left was relatively clean by the time it had boiled for a few minutes. He lugs the water to Cedany's bedside. "This'll hurt," he mumbles, and using a cup from the mess, gently pours the sterilized water over her wound. He repeats this until the water washing off seems just as clean.
Lavage the wound before we put a bandage on there. He can do the same for Anise, as well. Heal: [roll0]

[BramsesII]

Anise

The young witch returns quite quickly, her arms full of all the bandages she could find. "Hopefully this is enough." She stands beside Karn so that the man has easy access to the bandages. Irini is nowhere to be seen, but a good listener might hear quiet sounds coming from Anise's familiar satchel. "Uh... when you're done, could you have a look at my arm?"

[Syekate]

Karn takes a second to look up from his washing at the witch above him favoring her arm. "Looks hurt," he says, returning to the washing, and then applying some of the bandages to Cedany's torso over the wound.

[Kintua]

Satisfied that Cedany is receiving medical attention and affirming with a glance that they are still on course, Emily places her rapier back in its scabbard and begins raiding the galley to see if anything interesting has been left behind.

[roll0]

[byzantineblue]

In the galley, you find enough dried food to last all of you for a week. There's also a large amount of spoiled food; the room smells like a compost heap. There's also a door to a relatively large cabin in the very back of the ship. There's a rotting corpse there, in the middle of the floor, splayed out like a rag doll.

[Kintua]

Emily nudges the corpse with her foot, looks around the room, then heads back to the rest of the group. "Anyone hungry? Because I'm hungry, and there's food in here." She sits herself down in the galley and does her best to ignore the odor of rotting food as she eats just enough of what's left to quiet her growling stomach.

[Syekate]

After dressing Cedany and Anise's wounds, Karn follows the sound of Emily's voice to the galley. The smells bother him little; no worse than a some of the bog land he's traversed. He picks up a hunk of long-dried something and rips a portion off with his teeth, chewing with open mouth. He indicates with the food toward the next room over. "Who's that?"

[roll0]

[Kintua]

Emily shrugs and lets out a noncommittal grunt indicating that she doesn't know. "Figured that was part of the crew, but the fact he wasn't locked in the hold with the others has me thinking otherwise. Maybe there was a mutiny and he got himself killed. As far as I care, his clothes are food for the pyre pixie, but that's about it."

[BramsesII]

Anise

The witch, with her arm bandaged up, follows Emily and Karn to the galley. "I could do with a little bit to eat, yes." She picks up a piece of meat that looks sort of edible and begins chewing, every now and then tearing off small strips and handing them to the monkey who has climbed up on her shoulder. The creature eagerly devours the pieces. Anise tries her best to ignore the corpse. That's not very appetizing.

[byzantineblue]

Your injured have a chance to heal up for the rest of the journey, healing by a hit point each. Their injuries are kept clean and free of infection. It's about eighteen hours until you reach the wharf, according to a small timepiece set into the counter below the window in the pilothouse. The air has been getting steadily warmer, and now it's like a summer day despite the lack of sun or sky.

The lights of Gambit's Wharf are visible, glimmering over the water, long before you can make out any detail. The ceiling is especially high in this area, at least sixty feet, and more luminescent fungus grows there than normal for the vast caverns you're in. As you get closer, you can see that the brilliant lights of the town rise straight up to the ceiling. It seems to be built on a steeply sloped island or pillar of a type that you have seen on the way here, although this is the biggest you have seen.

As the tramp steamer glides closer, you can see there are about two dozen ships at the docks. Two have wooden masts and cloth sails hanging limp from them, but the rest are simple ironclads like your own. The houses are all made of wood, and the paint is chipping off in many places due to the humidity. The ones near the docks look poorly built, but they all have light pouring from the windows, tinted yellow, blue, green and purple. The streets are lit with tall, red lamps and there are a number of people on the move. Mushrooms glowing in all the colors of the rainbow grow on any available surface.

As your ship pulls up to a long, rickety dock, a spidery figure walks out onto the wooden planks. It's a man with a huge, beaklike nose, long, thin legs, and a mass of black hair arranged into a shape like a beehive sweeping backward. His grey clothes are corset-tight, except the billowing sleeves, and he carries a bright blue lantern. "Fifteen silver to dock for the day," he calls to you in a high-pitched voice.

[Syekate]

The warmth only appears to enhance Karn's particular odor, adding to the pungent swampy aroma of his. He finishes off a cooked crab leg, scratching a few pieces of shell grit out of his beard. Or into it. In either case, there's no obviously visible evidence of the meal. The ranger gazes out at the town with no small amount of awe; it's been some time since he's seen this many people in one place. The man on the docks calls up to them, but Karn prefers to take in the sights. Best leave the talking to them as knows how to talk proper.

Perception, just in case: [roll0]

[Kintua]

Emily tells the rest of the crew to get some rest when she checks how long the trip will take. Just before arriving at the dock, she remembers to strap her rapier back to her hip.

As the man yells across the dock, Emily checks one of her pockets and pulls out a single gold piece. Resting her hand on the hilt of her rapier, she holds the coin up for him to see. The thought of haggling crosses her mind, but she decides that fifteen silver isn't worth the effort. She finds five silver more scattered in her pockets and passes it to him.

[BramsesII]

Anise

The witch considers taking a nap during the trip, but decides against it. She sticks around to keep Emily company and exchange a few stories. Only after several hours does she decide that getting some sleep before arrival might be a good idea.

She awakes not long before they arrive in Gambit's Wharf. Wandering onto the deck followed by Irini just as Emily's paying the man for docking their ship, she stops a moment to allow her monkey some time to climb onto her shoulder. Then, she walks over to the captain. "Well, captain, what's next? Do we need to post a guard here as we go and investigate town?"

[byzantineblue]

The man on the docks sees the money and throws his arms back, the billowing sleeves snapping rigid as he leaps. He lands crouched on the steamer's railing, and plucks the coins from your hands. "Name of ship and of owner?" he chirps, whipping out a ledger and a quill.

[BramsesII]

Anise

When the man asks for the name and owner of the ship, Anise is not sure how to respond. After all, it's not their ship, nor did they check for the name of the vessel. She nudges Emily and whispers in her ear. "If you're going to come up with a name on the fly, I suggest about 'the seamonkey'."

[Kintua]

Emily gives a tiny shrug after Anise's whisper. She doesn't even think about the name before repeating it, only realizing that it's being named after the monkey on board after she has spoken. "The Seamonkey. Owned by Emily Thatch."

[byzantineblue]

He writes this down, then thanks you and springs back onto the dock, dancing back to the small cabin on shore.

[BramsesII]

Anise

With the man gone, Anise turns to the others to discuss their next course of action. The monkey on her shoulder faces forward, sitting there looking serious as if she's addressing the group as well. "So. What's our next move, then? I'd suggest heading into town to find out a little bit more about this place. Perhaps we can find someone who knows about this mist." Her expression turns serious when she mentions the mist. "With a bit of luck, we'll be able to get back home that way. How's that sound?"

[Sephir]

Cedany peeks out of the ship, throwing to Emily a pouch with 3 gp, her face red as a cherry. "C-can't go out with a ruined dress, underwear and a chain ****. C-could you buy some clothes. S-sorry about it, i tried to try the clothes of the corpses , but the stench was too much"

[Kintua]

Emily hears the tinkle of gold and snatches the pouch out of the air. She stares at it for a moment before Cedany's words click in her head and she remembers that the poor girl's half naked. "Why not come with us? I've got my leather on under this junk. It'll be too big for you to keep, but it'll keep you covered until we find something for you." She's already started undoing the buttons of her shirt before she's finished talking. When she's done, she keeps her coat with its many pockets for herself, but tosses her shirt and pants to the spellsword.

"Town sounds good to me, Anise. That's why we came here, innit?" She tosses Cedany's money back as she moves to grab a rope and start on the knots that'll keep the ship from floating away from the dock.

[BramsesII]

Anise

The witch nods. "Into town it is then. With our breeches on." She grins at Cedany before turning to Emily. "I'd help with that if I knew how to actually tie those knots. Mind if I watch you work?" The monkey on her shoulder darts to the other shoulder, then lifts up Anise's beret and peers under it, as if looking for something.

"Oi! Cut that out Irini!" Anise turns her attention to Emily again. "Might be useful in the future."

[Sephir]

Cedany takes the clothes and the money Emily threw with a look of utter surprise. She was about to protest for this action, but then she considered it impolite as the girl was so eager to help her. She eeked out a thanks as she returned to her cabin to get dressed properly, returning wearing Emily's clothes. "THank you Emily, i'll find a way to repay you someday" She smiling, her blush almost gone.

[Kintua]

"Hmm? Oh yes, yeah, sure, of course. It ain't like you're in the way. Basically you make a loop like this and you tighten it around the cleat here, and then you go over and under a buncha times until it's too tight to move. Technically that's a hitch, rather'n a knot, but as long as it keeps the boat in one place it doesn't really matter" She does this as she speaks, and gives the rope a tug when she's done and hands the loose end to Anise. "Wanna try tying this to that cleat on the dock while I work on the other?"

Cedany leaves the cabin just as she starts on the other knot, and Emily bursts into laughter at the offer of payment. "What, you think I'm renting you my old, tattered clothes covered in crab juice? Don't worry about it."

[BramsesII]

Anise

"Sure."

Anise takes the rope and attempts to somehow tie it to the cleat on the dock. Or at least, the thing she thinks is the cleat. It's probably the thing Emily was pointing at.

Once done, she looks at Cedany who has come out of the cabin. "Well, it seems we're all ready to go. Shall we?"

[Kintua]

"We shall." Emily steps onto the dock and checks over Anise's knot, just in case. Deciding that it'll be fine, she takes the end of the other rope and ties it down, ensuring that the ship will be safe while they explore town. She immediately turns and heads up the dock, eager to see what Gambit's Wharf has in store.

[byzantineblue]

Leaving the pier, you are surrounded by rickety wooden buildings with colored lights shining from within. Glowing mushrooms sprout from every available crevice, and from the bare wood of some of the more ill-maintained buildings. This luminescence isn't quite enough to see well by, so tall, right-angled lamp posts made of iron stand neatly down the center of the street, supporting orbs with a bright, red-tinged glow that swirls gently. Small birds and similarly-sized insects climb all over the structures.

The street along the waterfront is home to many pubs, gambling establishments and houses of ill repute. (This last may not be an accurate name for them here, as they flaunt their business openly with lewd illustrations or performers.) The streets coming off the waterfront go uphill, some quite steep, and the tall wooden buildings lean over them. They are lined with merchants selling baked goods, trinkets, clothing and just about everything else.

The street is crowded with people and animals of all description. Heights run from two to ten feet; girths are similarly represented; skin color and texture run the gamut; clothing ranges from none to rags to complex and radiant; and even the bipedal configuration shared by most of those here seems open for debate. All of these qualities are mixed and matched haphazardly, seemingly with no concern for aesthetic or conventional distribution of body mass. There's a red-haired woman with webbed fingers wearing a tall, conical hat and nothing else. There's a man four feet tall with hands a full foot wide. There's a hunched crone with huge fins on the sides of her head. No one pays much attention to your arrival.

[Sephir]

"Wow" Cedany said with wonder, looking around "ANd i thought we would stand out here. So uhh.....what should we look for ? I saw some tailor shops, but i think we will need more things that clothes as well. We should find the shipwright somewhere here, i don't think the ship is completely intact after all this time, it will need some repairs. We also need to know where the hell we are, i never heard of this place , but then again my only knowledge of geography is from books in the Academy. "

[Syekate]

Karn steps down onto the dock and drinks in the sights. It's almost like reflections from ripples in the water come to life. These grotesque forms, drinking, gambling, throwing their misshapen bodies onto each other in carnal displays... Laughing. Surely this is some mockery, a sick cruel joke meant to debase what good is left in life. The ranger ****s the weaponry about his person, making sure everything is ready to be unsheathed if necessary. "What is this place," he growls quietly, his eyes scanning the wharf for threats with an ice cold gaze.

[BramsesII]

Anise

As Anise steps onto the shore, Irini has already climbed back into her backpack. The witch looks around, her mouth almost falling open at the sight before her. She manages to keep a serious expression, though. "Woah. Plenty of people here. Good thing too. We're not going to stand out in this crowd." She looks at Cedany and her attire for a moment. "How about we start with getting your some clothes that're not ripped up? Then, we find a place where we can sleep before we head out again to see if we can find out something about that mist."

Anise turns to Emily while walking. "And then, if necessary, we can have the ship looked at. I agree that some things on it might need fixing."